Bellet: Provence’s Urban Wine Appellation

As France’s oldest wine region, Provence is infinitely important to the global history of viticulture. The region was settled by the Phocaeans around 600 BC, and it’s believed that the Greeks were responsible for the dawn of winemaking and grape growing in ancient Provence. These early wines were pale, made in a free-run fashion with a flash maceration.

Provence History and Appellations

By the 2nd century BC, an alliance was formed with the Romans, and evidence of their influence is still felt in modern-day Provence. The Romans began crafting red wines, but rosé still held sway and white and rosé wines were reserved for the aristocracy and clergy.

Rosé is still closely associated with Provence, yet many consumers connect it to a lifestyle of holiday and free-wheeling. This is far from the cultural relevance of Provençal rosé and many consumers, even those that drink rosé regularly, have much to experience to understand the full picture of this meaningful drink.

If you have a bottle or two of Provençal rosé, look for the appellation. Chances are it’s from Côtes de Provence (CdP), the largest AOP in the region spanning more than 20,000 hectares through 84 communes. The broad CdP appellation is segmented further into four sub-appellations: Côtes de Provence Sainte-Victoire, Côtes de Provence Fréjus, Côtes de Provence La Londe and Côtes de Provence Pierrefeu.

Alongside CdP, Provence is home to Côteaux d’Aix-en-Provence, Les Baux-de-Provence, Cîteaux Varois-en-Provence, Palette, Cassis, Bandol, Bellet and Pierrevert. Each of these has distinct terroir and methods, influenced by the soil, mountain formations, the wind and ancient agricultural influences that were often maintained from commune to commune when this region was decidedly rural.

The terraced vineyards of Château de Bellet. Photo Credit: Château de Bellet

Bellet AOP

Like any other wine region, simply covering “Provence” isn’t adequate. To remedy this blanket thinking, we’ll dive into a very unique appellation: Bellet.

Bellet was one of the first in Provence to receive AOP status, in 1941. This was just prior to the revival of viticulture in the region, which was diminished by phylloxera and the world wars. In times when winemaking prosperity was scarce, the farmers of the area turned to the cultivation of carnations, but that industry has faded into the past though flowers are still a product of Provence.

Comprising a mere 60-70 planted hectares, Bellet vineyards are situated in around Nice, France’s only urban appellation. Though vines do grow in other cities, namely Paris, the composition of Bellet within Nice is entirely distinct and Île de France (Paris) wines are seeking IGP (Indication Géographique Protégée) status, not AOP classification.

Some small vineyard holdings are even woven into spaces between greenhouses and suburban residences. Many vineyards are precarious, terraced or so small that machine harvest is out of the question.

The vineyards of Château de Bellet. Photo Credit: Château de Bellet

Because it is a flourishing city environment, vignérons belletan compete with commerce for land. Demand has lifted the price of real estate and vineyards in Bellet are some of the most expensive in France, ahead even of spots such as Saint-Emilion in Bordeaux and Pouilly-Fuissé in Bourgogne. If your bottle of Ballet stretches your pocketbook, this helps to explain the price tag.

Nice sits at the mouth of the Var River, where it empties into the Mediterranean sea—the flow of the river has deposited gravel, clay, sand and smooth stones called galets (you’ve seen them in Lirac and other Southern Rhône vineyards). All of this earth has been pressed and woven together with ribbons of clay to form a material known as poudingue.

The poudingue soil Bellet. Photo Credit: Château de Bellet

In Bellet, vineyards receive more than a fair share of wind and rain, which work together to keep the vines healthy and dry. Mistral and Tramontane combine with cool Maritime Alps breezes to chill the vineyards after the sun sets.

Braquet and Folle Noire are dominant for red and rosé Bellet and Rolle is dominant for white Bellet. One of the most interesting things about Bellet is the broadly unusual mix of varieties that are allowed in the AOP charter. Bordeaux varieties are strictly prohibited, yet Chardonnay is permitted (it is banned elsewhere in Provence).

White, rosé and red wines are produced in equilibrium. Bellet rosé and white wines are released no sooner March 1 following harvest and red wines are released on February 15, two years after harvest, and will experience some oak aging.

More on Provence

I cover Provence regularly and hold a Provence Master Level accreditation from the Wine Scholar Guild. If you’d like to read more, I invite you to take a look at this link for my Provence archives on L’Occasion. I also suggest taking a peek at my Provence WineZine and USA Today coverage.

The French Winophiles

Join us on Saturday, February 16, 2019, at 10am central for a chat about the wines of Provence. Look for our hashtag #Winophiles on Twitter and join in the conversation.

This month’s French Winophiles is supported by Blue Vase Book Exchange. They provided some of our members with a copy of “A Year in Provence” by Peter Mayle. You can find Blue Vase Book Exchange on Amazon and on Facebook.

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Thanks for the introduction to Bellet Jill! It’s an AOP I know little about. It’s fascinating that the price of land in Bellet can rival that of top tier Bordeaux and Burgundy land! I see my favorite wine shop has some Bellet all produced by Chateau de Bellet. Looks like those are the bottles in your featured photo?

I never realized that you specialized in Provence Jill. I am definitely going to be looking at the articles you have written for other publications. Then I’m going to brag to everyone I know that we belong to the same wine groups LOL.

I look forward to following and reading all the links! What an enchanting region. I especially love that they turned to growing carnations when wine wasn’t profitable. I went to look up the varieties you mentioned and found it mentioned that Braquet often had ” fragrant floral fruit aromas with hints of carnation”. Thank you for this inside view into the region.

7 or 8 years ago (the beginning of my wine interest) I was in Nice for my day job. I stopped in a wine shop, asking about local wines, and they were not very encouraging about Bellet. Do you have a sense of whether that’s accurate, or just a shop’s preference? Are they highly thought of?

It’s funny, my impression is that most of this wine gets consumed right in the Maritime Alps region… there aren’t a lot of exports, so my guess is that someone is consuming it! Another guess is that indeed CdP wines rule the roost and I’d expect that they do feel like a David to the Goliath.

Our June trip is a cruise to celebrate a big birthday – one with a zero. We embark Barcelona and hit Porto Mahon, Alghero Sardinia, Calvi Corsica, Marseille, St. Tropez, Monte Carlo, and Nice. Any suggestions for wineries on the island stops?